Just three and a half hours is all it takes to travel from Fukuoka Japan, to the chaotic
and charming Hanoi City.
This is a great place for a traveller on a budget, transportation, accommodation, and
food are all very cheap!
But it was the picturesque scenery and the fascinating culture, that made us decide to
spend 4 days in Vietnam.
It's day one of our Vietnam trip, and we are here with TIM AND AN!
We are from Hanoi Kids!
Hanoi Kids!
So, Hanoi Kids is like a voluntary English club.
And it's a non-profit, student-run organisation, we provide free tours for foreigners in Hanoi.
Vietnamese ramen!
Here we go!
Hanoi Kids is an amazing organisation.
With the help of Tim and An, we were able to navigate the confusing streets in Old Quarter,
and try foods that we might have otherwise completely overlooked on our own.
The cost to book a tour is completely free, although it’s good manners to pay for your
tour guide’s meals and transportation during the trip.
Which is not even really a problem, as it only cost about 10 US dollars to feed the
four of us.
Are we really going to cross here??
Yes!
Oh.
My.
Gosh.
It's easy man!
Oh my god, I'm so scared right now!
We just walk?
Like, we're just walking?
We're just gunna...
We're just gunna do this!?
We're just...
Oh my god.
The basic rule is, you just wait and then--
There's a BUS coming.
There's a bus coming!
WOW!
You have to have balls--oh my god that bus almost like, ran me over!
So the basic rule is this: do NOT hesitate when you cross the streets.
Do not hesitate?Just go?
Okay.
I hope we like, don't get run over tomorrow.
I thought Hanoi was busy during the day, but it turns out that the locals prefer to stay
at home during the hot summer days, and come out at night when it’s a little bit cooler,
instead.
Ah, refreshing!
It's so good!
Show me!
Wow, don't, okay, stop showing me, that's enough.
Man, this is awesome, everyone's chilling at the park, dancing!
Oh sweet, there's more dancing right over here!
Tatsu!
It's so much fun, you should dance with me!
Haha, I don't dance!
I really don't dance!
Dance with me.
Dance with me!
Come dance with me.
Come dance with us.
We're SO sweaty.
I know.
We are so sweaty!
Look at us, we are like, the shining, shiniest people, it's crazy, it's so hot.
When it comes to Asian culture, it’s amazing what a difference a three and a half hour
airplane ride makes.
Watching children play outside until the late hours, and watching locals dance in the park
made me really admire their seemingly carefree lifestyle.
So, day two in Hanoi, and Tatsu and I are grabbing lunch at a local Pho place!
We got so much!
I can understand why so many people insist on coming to Vietnam if you're a foodie, everything
here is so cheap and so fresh and immediately available, there are food stalls everywhere!
This is so good!
And I think I'm finally getting used to heat, like, I've just kind of given up and accepted
that I'm going to be sweaty at all times.
We avoided the heat by travelling in air-conditioned taxis, and spent most of our second day sightseeing
and taking pictures, visiting various temples around town.
What a hideous creature.
You're just like, "WHAT!?"
It looks like a raptor.
What is it?
What is it.
How are you?
Sleepy.
Where are we going today?
Uhhhh, Halong Bay.
And it's raining, so hard.
It’s a three and a half hour drive from Hanoi to Halong Bay, but after two busy days
in the city, it felt like it was time to take a break and enjoy some scenery.
Woah.
What do you think?
I think it's good.
Pretty amazing.
Also, this is kind of sexual.
Alright, in our bathroom we have a shower with hot running water, we have a sink, a
toilet.
Do you think we can like, eat these??
This cruise normally costs $400 USD for two people, but we booked online through a discount
website for $120 each.
This cost included four meals, activities, and of course, accommodation.
And though the experience overall felt a little bit touristy, for the price I felt like it
was worth it.
Besides, Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and contains over 1,600 islands, some
even sustaining vegetation and wildlife.
There are also approximately 1,600 people living inside Halong Bay, in Fishing Villages,
built upon the sea.
I’m glad we were able to see it for ourselves!
Ew, I look ghastly in these shadows!
So we're on the deck?
The roof deck right now, and everybody's chilling.
Everybody is chilling.
It's really nice, and we were squid fishing.
And it wasn't the season to fish squid.
Yeah, and the guide was like, "It's not the season to squid fish", we're like, "thanks".
It's very nice though, we're very relaxed.
Alright, so we're back in our hotel room and this is our souvenir haul for this trip, we're
not really big shoppers, but we do love our touristy t-shirts, you know, for memories.
Uh, we did get some Vietnamese coffee, Vietnamese coffee and some little presses, these were
super cheap, they were 25,000 VND, so like a dollar each or something?
Like just over a dollar.
These pants, you can actually buy like, almost anywhere in Asia, we saw them in Thailand
when we went and visited Thailand, but we didn't end up buying them, even though Tatsu
said he wanted them the whole time.
So now we're in Vietnam, and they're still selling these elephant pants and this time
we decided we were gunna buy them.
I don't even know what this is?
Lotus Seed Green Bean Cake.
Um, this is for Tatsu's company because in Japan it's mandatory, almost compulsory, that
you buy souvenirs for the people at work whenever you go somewhere.
Oh!
We got these!
They're wrapped in rice paper, so if you've ever had white rabbits, they're kinda like
that, except instead of vanilla chewy candy in the middle, it's coconut candy.
These are so good.
We're gunna fly back to Fukuoka at 1am this morning, so like, whatever.
My hair is just so poofy from the humidity, but whatever, and I'm not even going to bother
putting on makeup, because, whatever.
And um, yeah, we're pretty comfy.
Although we only got to spend four days in Vietnam, we were able to gain a bit of insight
into a world completely different from our own.
I wish we could have stayed longer, but now that we know what to expect, I’m sure we’ll
find a way to come back again.
If you’re visiting Japan and you’re looking for a long-weekend getaway, definitely consider
putting Vietnam on your list.